Family's hope shattered as remains of missing woman Miranda Rodriguez identified

HOUSTON - Relatives of Miranda Rodriquez spent the last five years hoping she was alive. That hope was dashed on Monday when her remains were scientifically identified.

"It feels like we lost her twice when she went missing and now," said Miranda's relative Brandi Rodriquez.

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While Hurricane Harvey was creating havoc all over Houston in August 2017, Miranda's relatives were trying desperately to find her.

"She had contact with her dad," Rodriquez said. "They were going to have a meeting place, she didn't respond after that."

Fast-forward to July 2022, a man hired to clean a barbeque pit in the backyard of a home at 5207 Peach Creek Drive finds a human skeleton in the pit.

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On Monday, those remains were identified as Miranda Rodriquez.

"I was heartbroken," Brandi Rodriquez said. "She wasn't a nobody. She was a precious somebody to us, and to be in the back of a house for that long with no answers, is disgusting and unacceptable."

The address means nothing to Rodriquez's relatives.

"That's why we were shocked," said Rodriquez. "She does have relatives who live in the area, so we were like, man she was five minutes away from so-and-so's house." 

Houston police homicide detectives are now investigating.

"It does bring us peace that we can bring her home and have a service for her," Rodriquez said. "There's another side to it, there's somebody who did something horrible to her."